If you’re involved in preparing content for your public entity’s newsletters, website, social media accounts, or other promotional materials, you’re certainly aware the internet is a treasure trove of photos, clip art, cartoons, and other images that seem to be ripe for the taking. Unfortunately, in most cases, you won’t be able to use them! Most graphics and images available on the internet are copyrighted and using them without proper authorization can lead to significant legal and financial consequences, even when infringement is unintentional. What’s more, there’s a whole industry of copyright protection agencies—equipped with internet-scanning technologies—devoted to catching you in the act (and taking your money)!

Learn more about the risks of “borrowing” images from the internet and how to reduce your entity’s exposure to potential copyright infringement claims (with some bonus content about copyrighted music) in our recent Blog Post.